'We're All In Limbo' - Casey On 'Frustrating' LIV Ryder Cup Issue

The 45-year-old is hoping his LIV Golf involvement doesn’t jeopardise his Ryder Cup dreams

Paul Casey takes a shot during the 2022 Open at St Andrews
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Paul Casey begins a new chapter of his career on Friday when he tees it up in the third LIV Golf Invitational Series event at Bedminster, New Jersey. However, the prospect of that wasn’t enough to prevent him airing his frustration on the status of future Ryder Cup eligibility.

Casey admits he signed-up for the Saudi-backed Series with his eyes open and accepts any decision either way will be taken out of his hands. He said: “I was aware of the ramifications of my decision. You know, and I guess it's not - the rules and decisions that are going to be put in place are out of my hands. I would still love to be a part of that, but if I'm not, then I guess there's nothing I can do. I'm not going to - yeah, I'd love to be a part of it.”

Video: What Is LIV Golf?

Casey has a long, successful history as part of European Ryder Cup teams, and has been on the winning team four out of the five times he’s appeared. That's something he hopes to continue in the future. He said: “I'm actually not sure what to tell you because it's such an amazing thing. Some of the moments I've had, some of the teams I've been a part of, even the bad moments, they're just amazing. To know that there's a possibility that a lot of us are going to miss out on that, I'm not sure what to tell you yet because I guess we don't know. Right now we're all in limbo, which is a bit frustrating. Yeah, I don't know.”

There has been debate surrounding whether any LIV Golf players would be allowed to compete in next year’s tournament since the first event in June. Back then, one player from the original intake, Graeme McDowell, said he hoped his LIV golf allegiance wouldn’t affect his Ryder Cup future.

Later that month, Lee Westwood was even more forthright on the issue. The former World No.1 said that he hoped to continue his Ryder Cup career despite his LIV Golf involvement, and even pointed out that, as far as he was concerned, he’d met the criteria for eligibility. He said: “I've been playing Ryder Cup golf since 1997, and the criteria has been to be a member of the European Tour. Now, the criteria for being a member of the European Tour is to play four events. Why should they change that now?"

Last week, the issue came to the surface again when Henrik Stenson was stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy before announcing he was the latest big-name player to sign up for the Series. With no further updates on the status of LIV Golf players wishing to compete in next year’s tournament in Italy, the waiting game goes on for Casey and others.

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Mike Hall
News Writer

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.